


Can We Keep It?

by conventionalstoryteller



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adoption, Baby Dragon, But with dragons, Dangerous Pet, Established Relationship, F/M, Family, Fluff, Found Family, Migration Routes of Mythological Creatures, Modern world, One Shot, Urban Fantasy, Wicca inspiration, animal fic, dragon - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 21:48:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14839763
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conventionalstoryteller/pseuds/conventionalstoryteller
Summary: “I am never leaving you alone in the apartment ever again.” Amrin set a disposable coffee tray on a scratched countertop, glaring at the scene before her. Ty shifted nervously.“It could be worse!” he reassured.  “At least it’s not water damage.”Or:Amrin just wants to grab coffee without disaster, and Ty's empathy is going to get them both killed.





	Can We Keep It?

**Author's Note:**

> This was an assignment for my Writing 12 course. I think it went pretty well. Enjoy!

“I am never leaving you alone in the apartment ever again.” Amrin set a disposable coffee tray on a scratched countertop, glaring at the scene before her. Ty shifted nervously.

“It could be worse!” Ty reassured.  “At least it’s not water damage.” Their small kitchen was completely torn apart; the ceiling was cracked and huge scratches were gouged into the walls. Broken glass and drywall littered the floor, torn paper still fluttering to the ground. The lights flickered ominously, and Amrin forced herself to take a deep breath.

“Ty,” she began. “Did you replace the protection herbs after I left?” Ty reached for the closest disposable cup and took a sip. He made a face.

“Hazelnut creamer in coffee? I mean, I can understand it in hot chocolate, but-”

“Don’t change the subject, Tyrick Fairclough!” Amrin crossed her arms. “What happened to my wreath?” Ty began to dig through a precariously-balanced drawer.

“You know I hate it when you call me that.”  Amrin didn’t move, and he sighed.

“To be fair, I was trying to improve the lock.” Ty announced, stirring his coffee with a fork. Amrin pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I told you to follow the instructions on the fridge! I’ve shown you the exact spell a hundred times already!” Amrin groaned, running a hand through her tangled hair. “A magickal theory prodigy, and you can’t even keep a lock intact!”

“It just didn’t make sense!” Ty pulled out his wand. Amrin had seen the tool many times before, but it still managed to catch her attention. The yellow cedar was about ten inches, covered with a delicate vine carving. A simple leather cord wrapped around the handle; strung with shells that clicked every time the wand moved. 

Ty tapped the beautiful wand to his arm twice, and Amrin focused on her boyfriend. He muttered an incantation under his breath. Three books flew out of the hallway to spin around Ty, flipping through the pages at his whim. 

“The centaury is mostly used for evil  _ spirits,  _ not wildlife! Amaranth was a good idea, but with the sage… I thought garlic would amplify it with a little more concentration.” Ty flipped one of the books open towards her, showing a crude diagram of a bundle of herbs. Messy handwriting scoured the page, scratched out and edited with dozens of different inks. 

“It’s bad enough that you chose to organize the herbs in a  _ wreath! _ I mean, wreaths are for people actively trying to cause harm, and not misfortune in general. Mabe a simple bundle at the doormat will work better?” He looked up, and rubbed the back of his neck. “But I knew you liked the wreath, so I tried to just weave in the new herbs. It didn’t work very well.” He gestured at a pile of ash on the floor. Amrin opened her mouth to shout, then she hesitated.  _ Deep breath, Amrin. It’s just some cracks in the wall.  _ She took a long breath.  _ Now, express your feelings calmly and effectively. Use ‘I’ statements, not ‘you’ statements. _

“I am frustrated,” she said cautiously, “Because I thought I did enough to avoid any damage during the dragon migration, but I should have cast a more permanent spell.” Amrin looked at the pile of herbs. “That spell has worked every year, but I should have realized that you would want to improve it. Maybe I should have made a second one for you to fiddle with.” 

Ty gave her a forced smile. “It’s alright! All my fault, after all. Dragon migration is almost over, so we can probably repair everything tonight, and maybe we can develop a protection spell for next year!” Ty was slowly inching towards the hallway, hands behind his back. “I’ll look at the fridge again. Thanks for understanding, Ammie.” 

Amrin stared at him. “The fridge is the other way.” 

Ty immediately blocked the doorway. “Yes! Yeah, I’m just...going to look around, make sure that there isn’t anything important broken.”  

“I’ll come with you.”

“Or not! Maybe you could-”  Amrin pushed past the stammering Ty into the hallway. A trail of destruction lead straight to their bedroom, and she looked incredulously at Ty.

“I better not see what I think I’m going to see.” she threatened, and swung open her door.

“No!” Ty yelped, but it was too late. 

The bedroom was in shambles. The bed was flipped and pressed against the far wall, one of the bedposts sticking through into the bathroom. . But what stood out to Amrin was the nest next to the heater. Cords, necklaces, and the odd spoon were woven tightly into a small bowl. A large pot lid was thrown haphazardly on top, and tinfoil surrounded the strange creation. Amrin took a deep breath. She looked back at Ty, who was frozen midstep.

“If I look inside that nest,” she began, ice creeping into her tone. “Will I see a dragon?” 

Ty shook his head.

“No?” he tried, but Amrin was already walking towards the nest. She grabbed the lid (noticing the unnatural heat on the handle) and cracked it open. A small jet of flame shot out of the opening, and Amrin let the lid fall shut.  _ Count to ten,  _ she thought desperately,  _ This is what your classes are for.  _ She took a shuddering breath, and turned slowly to face Ty. He let out a nervous chuckle.

“Surprise?” Ty approached her, his movements slow and careful. Amrin shot him a death glare, and he shrunk back. 

“I-I mean, this could be a good thing! I’ve always wanted a pet. And dragons are pretty cool,” Ty rambled, pulling a roll of tinfoil out from behind his back and began tearing off strips. “Of course, you know that. Isn’t ‘ _ The Differing Biology Between Draconem Subspecies’ _ the working title of your thesis paper?”

“I could have roomed with Dale. He’s reasonable, he wouldn’t destroy my home in ten minutes. Plus, he has brownie ancestry, so he’s a natural cook.” Amrin grumbled, twisting the leather cord around her wrist. “Or I could have stayed with Sylvia. She’s always travelling, I would essentially be living alone and paying half the rent.” Ty ignored her rambling.

“Maybe we could train him to be a guard-dragon, or something. He’s just a hatchling, so it would be a lot easier than adopting an older dog anyways!”

“We’ll have to return it to its mother.” Amrin crossed her arms. “It’s dangerous, and I don’t want to lose the damage deposit!” The bed shuddered and fell, gouging another foot through the wall.

“I can’t!” Ty wailed, throwing the tinfoil on top of the nest. “The mother just threw him through the window, and left him here!” 

Amrin pinched the bridge of her nose. “Him? You’re getting attached.” She reached for her smartphone. “I’m calling conservation.” 

“No! They’ll just put him in the wild, and he’s too small! He won’t last a week without help.”

“Not my problem.” 

“Your therapist said a pet might help with your stress levels!” Ty tried. Amrin glared at him again.

“And I wish I hadn’t told you that.” Amrin begin dialling, but Ty snatched the phone out of her hands. Amrin stared at him in shock.

“Give me my phone.” She stepped forwards, but Ty backed away. He swallowed nervously, but shook his head.

“Not until you swear not to call conservation.” He took another few steps back. “We both know they’ve been swamped with the migration. What if there isn’t any room in the wildlife reservations?”

Amrin groaned. “Give it back, and I won’t force you to clean up the apartment. And I’ll let you fix my wreath.” Ty shook his head. Before he could respond, a quiet screech interrupted the argument. Both Amrin and Ty slowly turned to face the nest. Instead of the dented pot lid, a pale-green dragon was perched on the rim of the nest. It screeched again, and Amrin’s jaw dropped.

“That’s a Curled-Claw Green.  _ Draconem Viridis.  _ Do you know how  _ rare  _ those are?” Amrin exclaimed, eyes wide.

“Well, you’re kinda the dragon expert here, and I-”

“There’s only twelve known females in the wild, Ty.   _ Twelve! _ ” 

“It’s not like I knew that when the mother-” The dragon screeched for a third time, wings unfurling. He was about the size of a kitten, the wings almost tripling his size. The pale-green scales decorating his body glittered in the light. The hatchling let out a warbling noise, and a small jet of flame shot from his mouth. Ty slowly stepped behind Amrin.

“How early do they learn to fly?” he asked, eyeing the hatchling.

Amrin was already approaching the nest, her hesitation forgotten. “A few weeks after hatching.” She pulled out her own wand; a thin, quartz rod with a silver handle reminiscent of a dagger. As Amrin whipped it through the air, a measuring tape sprouted from the end and laid itself flat on the dragon’s left wing.The hatchling made a confused, garbling croak.

Amrin stroked his head. “You’re a very pretty little guy, aren’t you?” she murmured. The measuring tape flew off of the dragon, and Amrin read it, frowning.

“I wonder how big his littermates are, if he’s the runt.” She stuffed it back into her pocket, turning to face Ty.

“Don’t you want to study this one? An actual dragon!” Amrin shook her head, dropping the wing reluctantly.  _ What are you thinking? You can barely keep your boyfriend alive, how can you raise a fire-breathing death lizard? _

“We can’t feed him.” she protested, but her heart wasn’t in it.

“We can get frozen mice for now, and we’ll just take him to the park once he’s too big for that.” Ty said persuasively. “Think of your thesis!” His eyes lit up, and Amrin’s heart sunk.  _ I know that look... _

“What about a deal?”

“A deal?”

“Yeah!” Ty began to pace, eyes not leaving the hatchling. “One week. We keep him for one week, and if I can’t convince you to keep him, we’ll call Conservation.” Amrin looked from the dragon back to Ty.  _ This is a bad idea,  _ she thought,  _ There are so many ways this can go wrong. _

“Please, Ammie?” Ty let his bottom lip tremble. Amrin let out a long sigh.

“One week. That’s it.” she sighed. Ty could not have smiled any wider.

“Thanks, Amrin! You won’t regret this!” He pulled her into a hug, and Amrin immediately wriggled free.

“Phone?” she held out her hand, and the smartphone was slapped into her open palm. Ty turned to the dragon, who was staring at the two mages, head tilted to the side. 

“And next time, please  _ ask  _ before you wreck my wreath.” The dragon let out a shriek, making both mages jump.

“What was that for?” Ty grumbled. Amrin stared at the hatchling, comprehension slowly dawning.

“Wreath?” She called. The dragon croaked, and waddled over to lay at her feet. 

Ty pouted, throwing his hands in the air. “Come on!” 

“Wreath isn’t the worst dragon name in the world.” Amrin knelt and stroked the dragon’s head. The dragon nuzzled into her palm.

“It’s not great, either.” Ty frowned. “Maybe we can call him Wraith?”

“Wraith...I like it.” Amrin looked around at the destroyed room.

“I guess I’ll look at fire-proofing the apartment. You’ll have to talk to the landlord, see if you can negotiate a dragon into our contract.”  Amrin carefully picked up Wraith, placing him back in the nest. “If we’re going to raise a dragon, we’re going to do it right.”


End file.
